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Full Metal Alchemist Fanon Wiki:Code of Conduct
The Code of Conduct differs from the Manual of Style in that, while the Manual of Style is concerned with the format and content of articles, the Code of Conduct is the guideline for user behavior. It should be largely intuitive: follow the general rules of wikia, be courteous to other users, don’t specifically look for ways to make trouble, and remember that our main goal here is to write about our own invented ideas and characters from a series we love, so be sincere. Please read both the Manual of Style and the Code of Conduct before editing an article, as it will smooth out the process in the long run and avoid mistakes that a user might otherwise make if they are not informed. General Rules These are the basic rules to which all users of FMAF must comply, many of which are also part of wikia’s general use policy under the proviso of the service. *'Make good faith edits.' While users are encouraged to edit and create articles, trolling edits, vandalism, and other types of edits that are not sincere are a good way to get blocked. **Do not spam, which is defined as posting repeated, unwanted, or unrelated messages or content. **'Do not articles.' Vandalism is not a prank or a joke and is grounds for an immediate block. If you notice vandalism, it is not necessary to contact an administrator before it, although you should later notify an admin of the incident. **'Do not revert good faith edits:' It can be tempting to revert any edit you disagree with, but do not succumb to the urge: only revert and edit if it is very obvious vandalism (like "Alphonse sucks! LALALALA", or someone changing "Amestris is a large, centrally located country" to "America is a large, centrally located country."). **'Do not enter “revert battles.”' If you strongly disagree with a reversion, undo it once, give an explanation in the edit summary (such as: "I disagree strongly, I'll explain why in talk.") and immediately move to the article’s talk page. *'Be civil. ' Inappropriate behavior, such as repeatedly insulting, threatening, or otherwise antagonizing other users will not be tolerated. *'Obey the rules.' remember that the admins have final say when it comes to enforcing the Manual of Style and the Code of Conduct. *'Respect privacy. ' Both your own and others. Remember that the internet can be a dangerous place, so do not post personal content such as your real name, address, school name, personal photos, etc. Respect the privacy of other users as well, especially those under the age of 18. Do not pester them by asking about their offline lives, and be wary of users who do. *'Do not post offensive or inappropriate content.' This includes vulgar language, racial slurs, pornography, grotesque violence, etc. Consider the context to determine whether something is appropriate or not (profanity in character dialogue is acceptable, while filling a character with vulgar phrasing is not). Content that encourages hatred or violence against any people group on the basis of ethnicity, religion, gender, country, etc. is not allowed. *'Do not use FMAF to advertise other sites.' You may request to affiliate wikis on the , but your main reason for being here should not be promotion. *'Sign your posts on talk pages.' This is done by adding ~~~~ to the end of your comment, which will be automatically replaced by your username and timestamp once you submit. Do not use signatures on articles or message walls. *'Do not sockpuppet or create false accounts.' Impersonating another person or otherwise misleading people to believe that you are someone else is considered a falsification of identity and will result in a block. *'Chat rules' follow the same general wiki rules: do not spam, do not post inappropriate content (private messages included), do not haze other chat users, and remember that chat is not anonymous and can be seen by any member of the wiki. Civility We are all human, and thus eventually we will find points on which we disagree. Nevertheless, it is important that users maintain civility and general courteousness when stating their respective cases. Discussions should be intelligent and mature. They are most certainly not name-calling battles. That said, these general protocols should be followed when interacting with other users: *'Assume good faith.' Consider that the person on the other end of the discussion is a thinking, rational being, who is trying to positively contribute to the project — unless, and only unless, you have firm, solid, and objective proof to the contrary. Merely disagreeing with you is no such proof. That goes for sysops (admins) as well. *'Do not make personal attacks.' Do not call others names or insult them. Explain the “what” as opposed to the “who”. If you believe something to be wrong then give your reasoning for that belief, but keep in mind that you too may be in the wrong as well. Sometimes it helps to suggest corrections, other times it is best to allow the other user to come to those conclusions on their own. Failing to treat another user with respect warrants a block, and if hostilities continued you may be permanently blocked for harassment. *'Do not target another user or their work.' Even if you are sore about something, that does not give you the right to call attention to every mistake another editor might make. This behavior is both aggressive and immature, and as such is grounds for a block. *'Respect neutrality.' Meaning if two users are having a discussion and you are not involved, do not jump into the middle of a dispute. If you notice that the argument has escalated to the point of incivility, you may call an admin’s attention to the thread, but do not comment on it yourself. If you sense tension in a personal conversation, and think an argument is about to start, the best thing to do is to stop replying. *'Make valuable critiques.' When presenting an issue with an article, try to bring in multiple points of view as opposed to just your own. It is helpful to consider situations like this a chance to review another user’s article: so try to give some positive feedback as well as the negative. *'Remember the Golden Rule. ' “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Plagiarism As a fanon wiki, FMAF falls under the copyright law limitation known as “Fair Use.” This means we are able to use portions of copyrighted use as this wiki is solely for personal enjoyment and is in no way intended to steal (profit from) copyrighted content. However, the Fair Use clause only applies to using small amounts of copyrighted material without permission: it is not a “catch all” for copy-pasting or uploading anything you find on the internet. There is no formula that says “X amount is fair use” but “X + Y is too much.” That being said, you need to use discernment when posting copyrighted material. This is important because it involves the wiki as a whole: not just you. In other words, every member is liable for the content of this wiki, so please don’t go out of your way to infringe copyright laws. For example, it’s fine if I post a screen capture of Scar in battle in order to illustrate an article, but it is not okay to upload the entire, copyrighted Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood episode. Proportion and purpose are the most important keywords here. What fair use does not account for, however, is . Plagiarism defined is the unattributed use of another person’s ideas, words, or patterns of organization. To be extremely specific, there’s global, patchwork, incremental, intentional, unintentional, or paraplage plagiarism. Even though this is a fansite, FMAF still holds its users accountable to creative and intellectual integrity. These means that to directly copy another written work, series, (anime or manga) or any character ideas, concepts, and other content without giving attribution (claiming the work as your own) is plagiarism and will result in consequences such as being blocked. This goes for the intentional copy-catting of other user’s work on this site as well. If a person is concerned that another user is stealing their work, please take the issue to a member of the administration immediately. Sexuality and Violence It is clear to almost all fans that the Fullmetal Alchemist series contains no small amount of mature content. Mainly, dark themes such as human transmutation and the level of violence portrayed on-screen are what lend the show its TV-14 rating (although some episodes were rated as high as TV-MA). Additionally, under wikia’s Terms of Use, any wikia project is “intended solely for users who are thirteen (13) years of age or older.” Thus, it is to be unanimously understood that this is a PG-13 wiki. Users should be aware that Fullmetal Alchemist is a series that prominently features warfare, and as such the violence both canonically and in fan-created works can be brutal, but it should nevertheless not be excessively graphic. Any form of pornography (explicit depictions of sexual activity), whether in visual or written form will result in an immediate block. For more specific information please refer to the Manual of Style. Consequences Whether unknowing or intentional, violations of the Code of Conduct are punishable according to these consequences, with no exceptions: * First offense: Warning * Second offense: 2 day (48 hours) block * Third offense: 1 week (seven days after the violation) block * Fourth offense: 1 month (30 days) ban * Fifth offense: 1 year ban User Equality Here on FMAF all users are treated as equal despite any special circumstances, and are thus all held equally responsible for abiding by the Code of Conduct and any other wiki policy. Thus, no physical or mental condition, age, or difference in writing skills will be considered cause to suspend the enforcement of any rule or regulation. Additional Remediation *If a banned user attempts to create a separate account to bypass a ban and are caught, they will automatically be given a minimum ban of one month. *If pseudo (“sockpuppet”) accounts become a reoccurring issue with a particular user, their IP address will be reported to Community Central and they may be banned on other wiki projects. *Users returning from a ban will be given a one-day probationary period. If the same offense is repeated during this period, their next punishment will be doubled.